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The third force
garner an alternative political ensemble as a "force” and therefore a threat to the established political set up. The use of the word "force" has been so random as to have given the idea of any other alternative to the two parties for the electorate a bad name.
Anyone even contemplating an initiative, let alone articulating it, has been vilified. It is seen not only as a crime but those linked with the idea are looked upon as conspirators. And regrettably, any talk of a third party is invariably construed as a ploy to apply the "minus-two" theory. Interestingly, this is perhaps the only "threat" that brings the two major political parties, which are in a perpetual state of animus, together.
Just look at the fate of those that tried to think of new leadership in the two parties during the erstwhile caretaker government. Most of them have been dumped, particularly those in the BNP. And as for the AL, those that made up the RATS group have been sidelined, except for one.
As for those unencumbered by association with any political party but want a peaceful political environment, something that the country has been deprived of for the greater part
of our existence and for which the people have had to suffer much, had been made a target of the fury of the political parties for trying to hold out other options for the voters, the AL in particular, it being now in charge of the affairs of the state.
And some of those who had tried, unsuccessfully though, to float a new political party in the recent past, continue to receive flak from these politicians. It is not only that floating a new party is an anathema they are also blamed for most of the ills facing the country. There is an inherent and inexplicable resistance manifested in hostility towards a third party. That kind of attitude influences the mind of our political leaders, as evident from the comments of the secretarygeneral of the AL who has indirectly blamed the person behind the idea of a new party during the last CTG for the Padma Bridge debacle. His remarks at a recent ALCWC meeting, "those who sought to destroy politics by floating a new party after the 1/11 changeover in 2007 were now conspiring against the democratic government and the prime minister" say it all.
We are caught, I am afraid, in a
mental straightjacket, particularly those that are inclined to think that the "third force" will invariably be a supra-political element. And I am afraid such views mainly predominate the thinking of the leaders of those parties who carry little weight on their own, and most of the time need one of the larger parties to strut them up. And some of them are a part of the present alliance government.
The two major parties have been tested and tried, and it would be unfair not to give due credit to them for what have been achieved in the last 20 years. Our growth rate has seen a steady rise, but it could have been better were it not for the disruptions caused by political turmoil. The RMG sector has flourished, and one cannot believe that the government had nothing to do with it. The performance of the food and agriculture sectors gives us comfort, but prices of fast moving items have suffered severe distortions against which the government has been helpless. Extremism has been curbed but social violence, compounded by poor law and order, has put a severe strain on individual security, not to speak of the politicisation
of the bureaucracy. The corruption and HR index cannot make us proud. We have a Human Rights Commission who, it seems, lacks the punch.
But over all these, the stifling political environment and the political uncertainty caused by conflicting positions of the AL and BNP on national issues have compelled our thoughts on alternatives to these two. It is totally repugnant to democratic culture that the major political parties would abstain from the parliament when in opposition, thereby abdicating the responsibility reposed on them by the voters.
Some people see the recently formed Nagarik Oikkyo as a potential alternative but I cannot concur. The Oikkyo should be more committed than merely to work to build a resistance movement of the people to force the two major parties, according to it, to do their onerous duties properly.
A third force is an idea whose time has come. And one hopes it would emerge from the existing political environment, which will help evolve a new political culture. One cannot predict the degree of success of a new venture but it will not be bad idea to try out. And instead of indulging in vilifying the idea and painting it as a phantom, the political leaders would do well to stop and think why the idea of a third forces rapidly catching the imagination of the common man.
The author is Editor, Oped and Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.